|
|
 |
|
|
|
It isn't always easy to shrink your lawn, or to landscape the way you would like to. If there are two people living in the house, there are bound to be at least two ideas on how to landscape. Sometimes the ideas are "yards" apart; other times the wishes of the two people coincide. If both people have a strong opinion on how the yard should look, it is probably best to draw the plans out and negotiate an acceptable agreement. For example, when my husband and I decided to add a garage to our back yard, I wanted to keep the existing trees and he wanted to keep the existing old brick carriage house. No matter what we drew out on paper, we couldn't find a way to renovate the carriage house into a garage that we both liked. We built a separate shed for storage, and I park my car in the carriage house. It seems to work okay. Another variable is the amount of money and time you want to spend on the yard. If one person has a lot of opinions and the other person is the one who does the work, the worker will probably do it the way she wants. I get flowers from friends and neighbors and have to plant them somewhere or they will die, so they go into the existing flower beds, or I make new ones. Then I often ask my husband to help me with the rock or brick borders. Most of the beds turn out very pretty and make us both happy. When I have not wanted to work in the yard, I have found that lawn is the best idea. I've always found it difficult to get cheap help to do more complicated tasks like weeding and designing. I guess I haven't ever been uninvolved enough or rich enough to just let someone else do the whole thing. © 2001 Deborah O. Hudson
|
If you share a home with someone else, your landscaping ideas may be "yards" apart. If your yard turns out to be another thing that needs to be negotiated between the parties involved, try these books:
|
